January 20, 2025
GREAT FIGURES WHO HAD FAITH IN NICHIREN SHU GREAT FIGURES WHO HAD FAITH IN NICHIREN SHU (5)
By Rev. Sensho Komukai
Sado Island, in Northwestern Japan, is where Nichiren Shonin was exiled from 1271 until 1274. There are many local tales of how the uneducated islanders came to him, to learn the great teachings of the Lotus Sutra from our Founder, Nichiren Shonin, and many of the people from Sado Island became his ardent followers. There was a fisherman called Nizo whose mother was one of these devoted followers. She wished to visit Mt. Minobu. Finally, Nizo took her with him, across the sea and mountains, all the way to Mt. Minobu. His old mother was very glad, and Nizo felt happy.
Later, she died peacefully on Sado Island. Nizo, however, never forgot her words while they were in Minobu. Finding the upward slopes toward the temple and our Founder’s tomb unexpectedly steep, she said, “With a flight of stone steps, it would be of great help to anyone paying a visit to the temple.” Nizo made up his mind to realize his mother’s wish. Several years later, he saved an ample sum of money through his hard work as a fisherman. He left for Mt. Minobu to make a donation GREAT FIGURES WHO HAD FAITH IN NICHIREN SHU GREAT FIGURES WHO HAD FAITH IN NICHIREN SHU (5) 2 Nichiren Shu News No. 231, April 1, 2019 to build the stone steps. He stayed at the town of Kajikazawa, a river landing along the route, before arriving at Mt. Minobu. The town had changed greatly from the time when Nizo had first visited with his mother. There was no crowd in the streets. The whole town looked gloomy without much activity. When asked the reason, the landlord of an inn answered, “There is a severe famine over the whole area. Many are found having starved to death each day. No one can even afford to clear the dead bodies.”
Hearing about the miserable situation, Nizo said to himself, “The people of this town have been suffering from a famine. If I ignore this situation, no one will survive. Money can be saved up if I work hard again, but starvation demands a speedy solution. Helping the starving people out of hunger must be given priority over the construction of stone steps. The Lotus Sutra is the teaching to save people from suffering. Nichiren Shonin will agree with me.” He gave all the money he had to the townspeople of Kajikazawa and turned back to Sado Island.
Nizo worked harder than ever, going fishing from early morning and returning home late at night. One day, while out in his boat, he caught the sight of a luminous object at the top of a mountain. He found an outcropping of gold. This was the first discovery of a gold mine on Sado Island. Later, the island became famous throughout Japan for its gold mines.
As he was granted an enormous amount as a reward from the lord of the manor, Nizo immediately headed for Mt. Minobu. Along the way, he arrived in the town of Kajikazawa and stayed at the same inn as before. The innkeeper stared him in the face asking, “Excuse my abrupt question, but aren’t you the person who gave all your money to help us from starvation?” Nizo was not seeking gratitude in return for his earlier generosity, but he could not hide the truth. He nodded in assent with a smile. Immediately, the innkeeper rushed out screaming with joy, “Here comes the living Buddha for us! This is the man who saved the town of Kajikazawa from famine!” The townspeople gathered at the inn, one after another in tears, expressing their gratitude to him.
When they realized that the money Nizo had given them was to be used for building stone steps on Mt. Minobu, they offered their volunteer labor to construct the steps. When the construction work began, the people of Kajikazawa came together at Mt. Minobu to work to build the stone steps. Other visitors who saw the construction work in progress, joined them or contributed money to help the construction. The stairs were completed ahead of schedule in 1632.
The Bodaitei Stairs, or Stairs to Enlightenment, start from the Sanmon (main gate) and have 287 steep steps leading towards the main hall of Kuonji Temple.
